Fitbit Alta Review

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Pros

Pro

Slim design

The Alta has a much thinner design, making it less of an eye sore, as well as lighter so it's more comfortable to wear

Pro

Large display

For its size, the Alta has a huge display. The display will show steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes and sleep time. You can switch between these by tapping the side of the display (there is no button). The Alta will also vibrate, notifying you of incoming calls, texts, as well as calendar alerts.

Pro

Week long battery life

The battery on the Alta can last a full week before you need to recharge it - quite a bit longer than most activity trackers.

Pro

Move alerts

The Alta will remind you about your move alerts each hour. By default, it suggests 250 steps each hour and it will vibrate 10 minutes before each hour is over to give you enough time to accomplish the micro-step goal.

Many style options

Cons

Con

Dim display

The display isn't bright enough to easily view outdoors

Con

No GPS or heart rate monitor

The Alta is designed to be more of a passive tracker for the Average Joe as opposed to a complete activity tracker for enthusiasts. There is no GPS or heart rate monitor, so the stats you get are limited to steps, rough distance traveled, estimated calories burned, active minutes, and sleep tracking.

Con

Display is off by default

In order to view information on the display, the device must either be double tapped (which can be frustrating to do properly for some), or it is turned on automatically by the appropriate wrist/arm movement for checking the time.

Con

The device cannot be used on its own

In order to activate the device for usage, it must be paired with a smartphone and/or PC (through USB dongle), and an account must be registered through Fitbit.